Circles
by Zurizip
Summary: Detailing the misled romance of Maria and Toudo, the early life of Robin Sena, and Father Juliano's struggle with 'truth'. One shot, finished. Formatting now fixed, stupid line breaks!


Written for a contest at Harry's. Before reading, I would suggest reviewing the names of each episode. Cheers!

* * *

_Replacement for the human spirit is impossible.

* * *

_

"Those bastards are addicted to power. To think that they would undermine the scientific community by stealing my work…it's-,"

"Toudo-san, we understand you're frustration, but would you just consider…"

The geneticist turned a glare on the dean of the University. "Consider what? Giving up my life work to a bunch of bastards for nothing? Not a chance. I'm sorry, Dean Hitomi, but I am leaving."

The man at the desk sighed, bowing his head. "If you must, then."

Toudo nodded, jaw set. As he turned, his former superior cleared his throat. "Toudo-san, a word of caution: FZ Genetics has been rumored to have some shady connections. Please, be careful."

Toudo grinned, a bit of a proud and haughty twenty-seven-year-old genius peaking through his usually concentrated demeanor. "Of course sir; after all, what's the worst that could happen?"

* * *

_Worst that could happen, huh? Guess the poaching was one of the best things to happen to me. _

Toudo Hiroshi smirked over his dark light. It had been one of the best things to happen to him. Once he had muscled his way into the European genetics corporation, he had quickly risen on the ladder, and soon he was working on his own project again – but FZ genetics was better than the university by a long shot. They had already mapped the human genome: when he had been at the university, they had just been scratching the surface of understanding.

But _here. _Here, he was not only mapping the human genome, but he was looking for something. He was going to change the world; though, the world didn't know it yet. Sure, he was dancing in darkness…

But at least he was dancing.

* * *

"And what about that project you were working on at the beginning of the year?"

"Oh, yes, that was…dismantled in early January. I've been working on something else since then."

The older man's eyebrows raise, Toudo could tell that he was surprised. "Well, I had heard that that was going well," he said, voice heavy with thinly veiled curiosity.

_It **was** going well, _Toudo thought, _that was the problem. _But outwardly, he smiled good-naturedly and shook his head. "It was for awhile- but then we ran into some stubborn aesthetics within the genome, and eventually had to give it up."

A grunt; "That is most unfortunate. My sympathies, it is always distressing to see a project go under like that."

"Oh, it's better than it could be; this new idea is quite fascinating…" But as Toudo spoke about the benefits of his newest proposal, his mind was back in his private lab, in a locked drawer, where all of his notes were kept; where his _second _project lay- nearly finished with the planning stages. _You have no idea… _he thought with a smile.

* * *

Generally, he didn't dream. Toudo didn't like to dream, because when he did, he could never explain the reasons for his night demons. This night was no different. He stood on a flat plain with nothing but a sepia landscape around him. He looked around, and suddenly the scent of lilies hit him. But there was no breeze, and as far as he could tell, no flowers on this seemingly dead landscape. He frowned. His mother had always told him; "Be wary, my son, but pay attention when it smells like wandering spirit. They often have things to tell you."

_Well, _he thought, _it's not like I've got anything to do but pay attention. _

There wasn't much to do anyway. After the first wave of lily scent passed, he was left to simply stand. Getting bored, he started to whistle, rocking back on his heels and looking at the sky. He squinted. No, it wasn't his imagination; there was a piece of paper, fluttering down to him. With hardly a second thought, he reached out, and the paper fell neatly into his hands. He gazed at it.

It was a picture. A woman, quite pregnant, smiled down at her swollen figure. Her visage was serene, happy, and her dress was of the purest white, covering her feet and whatever she was standing on. It rather reminded him of images he had seen of the Virgin Mary. His mouth began to form a question – who is this? – But it never left his lips. Cries and screams echoed across the plain, and he heard rumbling, as if there was an earthquake, or a building falling down. Then a strong breeze flew into his face, the aroma of lilies turning into the scent of fire as the picture in his hand corroded away in flame.

The next morning, he remembered only the perfume of lilies as he dressed for a company luncheon with benefactors of his current project.

* * *

Raindrops spattered on Toudo's plate. He looked up, squinting at the sky. As if reprimanding him for his curiosity a large drop fell directly into his eye, making him blink rapidly. Soon, he was joining all the other party goers under the large tent. As he stood, brushing himself off, an elbow jabbed his side. He winced.

"Oh! I'm so sorry sir, did I hurt you?" a voice said in passable Japanese.

He glanced up to see a slip of a girl worriedly shifting, "Er… no, no, it's all right," he said, noting that she was decidedly European.

"Are you sure," she asked, clasping her hands in front of her and looking down, "It's just that there's so many people in here…"

"Yes, there are," he said as he straightened, "And that is why you should not worry."

She smiled, bowing slightly, "Thank you…"

"Toudo. Toudo Hiroshi." He supplied.

"Toudo-san," she said, holding out her hand, "I am Maria Colegui…sorry, Colegui Maria."

He laughed, somewhat charmed by her tremulous grasp of custom, and took her hand, shaking it firmly. The wind changed for the twentieth time that night, and suddenly, he smelled lilies. And he knew that it was coming from her. Pausing, he inhaled again, just to be sure. It was the same scent, the only thing he remembered from his dream.

"Toudo-san?"

He jerked, dropping her hand like a hot coal. "S-Sorry…," he stammered, "Your perfume, I just…" he took a breath, calming himself, "It smells just like my dr- mother's."

She quirked her head in mute curiosity, "I see," she murmured. "Well, they say the scent is the strongest for of memory."

_I never knew just how true it was, _Toudo thought, shaken.

* * *

When they had met, Toudo had known that there was something about Maria that was different. She was studying religion in Japan, getting ready to teach courses on religion to students at SOLOMON headquarters. They were fast friends. One day, as they talked, the subject fell to his organization.

"I…am not fond of my father's organization," Maria said quietly after he had mentioned that he worked for the same people. "I have been told time and again that what they do is righteous and good; but I am not sure that I believe it."

"Neither do I," Toudo said, "When I joined, I thought it would be for the good of the people." He shook his head, "But it isn't. It so easily turns to extermination."

"They have a simple mind, it seems; do what they say or…"

Toudo looked up. "Or what?"

"I don't know," she said, shaking his head.

* * *

"Maria?"

She looked up from her book, sensing his nervousness. He swallowed, and braced himself. It had been nearly a year since he had met her, and he knew, _knew, _and always had known in the bottom of his bones that she was the one. Finally, after years of secret research, he had found a way to do it…all he needed was her.

"I need your help."

She sat up, concern glinting in her eyes. "Hiroshi, you know you may ask anything."

He shook his head. "No, no, I cannot. This is something you must be willing to do."

"Tell me."

And so he did, outlining his dream from its birth to what it would grow to be. He explained why she was the only one who could do this. As he spoke, he felt Maria's belief grow. And by the time he was done, he knew that she had just as much conviction as he.

"I have always wanted a child," she said softly, a hand unconsciously going to her flat stomach, "But the doctors told me when I was very young that childbirth would be very hard for me."

He nodded. Maria had told him of a condition she suffered soon after they met; and he knew that her flaw would be her child's strength. "I understand. If you do not want to, it-,"

She swiftly pressed two fingers to his lips, stopping his words. "But I do want to, Toudo Hiroshi. I have faith in you."

He blinked, and as she retreated, he nodded. "Then we will need to plan."

* * *

He sat back. It was…done. He had taken a DNA sequence from Maria's blood and altered it, putting it into a fertilized egg. All that was left to do was plant it within her.

Suddenly, something in him whispered that as soon as he did that, he would doom her. It disturbed him much more than he had thought it would. But then he recalled her words as he spoke to her over dinner one night.

"You…may not survive to see your child," he had said morosely, "And yet, you are still willing to do this?"

She nodded; eyes intense. "If I can change the world with the power lying dormant inside me, the very thing that will eventually kill me, than I wish to pass it on to my child. I cannot use it for myself; but the child will."

Sometimes he looked for a miracle. Some sign of the craft, some medicine or treatment that would save her. But he knew that she would die, and so did she.

_I guess it's all in what we do before we die, _he thought, and picked up the phone to call Maria and tell her the good…bad…

The news.

* * *

Maria hung up the phone, bowing her head over the counter in exhaustion. Toudo eyed her worriedly as she wandered to a chair, being tender with her rapidly swelling stomach as she sat down.

"Who-?"

"My father," she sighed, "He knows, Hiroshi, I know he does."

"It is too late to stop us," he pointed out.

She nodded, staring off into space. "Do you ever tire of the separate lives we live?" she murmured after a moment, "The faces we show to the world, and the ones to each other?" She sighed quietly, "They're just so different."

He shifted, and got up, going to her. "Maria," he said, "I've been living separate lives since I joined SOLOMON."

She chuckled mirthlessly. "Then you must find this easy."

He shook his head, kneeling in front of her. "No. But I do know that if you need my help, you may ask for it, any time, any where." He leaned closer. "Maria, you have brought all of my dreams to life. You have given your own existence for others; you threw away a marriage of happiness for one of necessity. I owe you at least that much."

"Hiroshi…," she said quietly, reaching down and just barely touching his face with one hand. For a moment, she just searched his eyes, and then she withdrew, and smiled. "Thank you."

* * *

_…You do not fool me, Hiroshi Toudo. I know that you and my daughter married only as a cover for what you are doing. And you will suffer in hell for it. The soul cages, Toudo, and it is a trap that cannot be escaped from._

_Juliano Colegui_

Toudo stared at the letter for a long time. He couldn't help but feel… insulted. Yes, they had married so that their constant contact would not be suspicious, but they had never deceived themselves into thinking that they were in love. What worried him was that the old priest knew what they were doing.

He sighed, holding the letter to a candle. Well, if he had not said anything to SOLOMON yet, he probably never would.

He hoped that he was right.

* * *

Near the beginning of spring, Toudo looked up from his book and had to catch his breath. Maria stood by the window, a white robe pulled over her very pregnant form. Her visage was serene, happy, and her lips curved around words that he could not hear.

For a moment, he was lost in a sense of intense de-ja-vu. Then, it passed, and he rose. "It's almost been nine months," he said, as if neither of them had been thinking about it.

She nodded. "It seems like it's been forever…and yet like only a day has passed."

"Yes, it does," he said, turning to look out at the sunset.

"Hiroshi…"

He glanced at her, silently asking her to speak. She bowed her head, fingering her abdomen. "I know that you think you have ruined my life by asking me to do this…" she paused, looking up to meet his eyes, "But I want you to know, I have been happy. This child is my hope, and you are part of what gave her to me."

He could not speak, stunned. Maria had just given the child a sex, and he was sure that she was right. But more importantly, she had allayed all of his fears of her blaming him for taking away from her life. He had thought that their contented time together had been nothing but precious illusions…

But it seemed that it had been real.

* * *

Her knees suddenly collapsed and her vision faded. Grimacing, Maria gritted her teeth and willed herself through the pain. Breathing ragged, she was finally able to see clearly again, and found herself sitting on the couch. Leaning back, she closed her eyes, fighting tears. Each time it happened, it got worse. She had been fighting her own weakness for the last twenty years, and it was finally getting the better of her. Suddenly, she knew with perfect clarity that she would never live to see her own child. A tear made its way down her cheek. _So these are the eyes of truth, _she thought, _to tell me that I will never know my own hope._

Taking a deep breath, Maria rose, wiping her eyes. She would make it to childbirth, at least. She had to.

* * *

"Hiroshi Toudo is not a witch. He is a scientist, and he has done the unthinkable."

General Favre eyed his troops as he spoke, pacing the line of men holding their loaded guns close to their chest in attention. "He has created a witch. A super witch, if you will, one that will be able to tear the world apart." He saw their faces barely twitch in fear.

Good. They would be less likely to hesitate if they were afraid.

* * *

"Maria!"

"Hiroshi? What is it?" Maria stood near him, one hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up at her, face reflecting pure fright.

"Maria, somehow SOLOMON has found out," he said, half turning and putting a hand on either of her slight shoulders, "one of my colleagues told me; they've sent a hit team out from Europe."

He could see her fear, not for herself, but for the child that was their hope. "Maria," he said, "we can't stay here. I've gotten plane tickets. You have to get away."

"But where will we go?" she asked, grabbing on to his hand.

He shook his head sadly. "You must go to Italy; your father will help us, if anyone will."

He could see it dawning on her that he was not coming. "No!" she said, "Hiroshi, come with me, please! You can hide with me, you can see our daughter!"

Closing his eyes, he took one of her tiny hands and held it to his heart. "Maria, if I stay with you, I'll only get you hurt. You know how good the hunters are as well as I do."

"You could never hurt me," she said quietly, but her face said that she knew he was right.

He glanced out the window, and then back to her. "Come on, the taxi is here. Take this," he handed her a packet, plane tickets with a few bills stuck into an envelope. Like a slow dream, he opened the door, but he didn't want to let go of her.

"Hiroshi," she said quietly, and timidly leaned up, kissing him softly. He closed his eyes, savoring their first and only real kiss. But it was bitter sweet, overshadowed with the knowledge that it was time to say goodbye.

When she broke the kiss, he took one hand and squeezed it. "I fell in love with you," he whispered painfully, knowing that these were his last words to her.

"I know," she said sadly, "I fell too."

She was crying as she walked to the taxi and got in.

He rather suspected that he was also crying.

* * *

Something wasn't right. Where was she? She remembered Toudo, the taxi, the airport…

She groaned as a cramp began and held in her abdomen…contractions? The pain intensified and then abruptly ceased, making her gasp.

"Maria…"

Her eyes opened at the sound of a familiar voice. She was in a dimly lit room, lying on a simple bed. Above her stood Juliano Colegui. _What happened? _Maria thought; _I did not get on the plane for Italy, so why am I seeing him?_ Another stab of pain washed over her, and she shut her eyes tightly, trying to ward it off. There was the voice of a woman, and then movement. Someone was chanting something to her…"hang on, push, Maria, breathe." Vaguely, it registered that this sounded very much like someone having a child.

_She was having her child_. And she knew that if she didn't follow that chanting voice, she might never give birth to her hope. She breathed, and pushed. Sweat trickled down her face; she couldn't hear herself screaming, but knew that she must have been. The pain was blinding, all consuming, only the thought of Toudo's work, her dreams, witch's suffering, kept her from giving up. Her child would be the one to save them, to heal the pain that SOLOMON had caused.

Something changed. A different cry joined hers. An infant's cry; one that seemed to know that her mother was already lost to the world. But the pain had not receded. She could feel her child, wrapped in cloth and in her father's arms. He brought the baby close to her, and she reached to touch it, shaking fingers just brushing the soft skin before collapsing.

"Robin," she gasped, "My hope…"

Juliano watched as his daughter, so strong for so many years, took a last shuddering breath, relaxing into death as he had seen few do before. "My hope," she whispered again, and her breath stilled.

* * *

"Toudo! You might as well give it up. Your defenses are crumbling."

_As long as there is still hope, I will keep fighting, _Toudo thought to himself, but did not reply to the general. He kept his breath bated, inhaling and exhaling as softly as he could. These people were the best, he knew it was only a matter of time, really, but he _had _to hold out. If he did, he could delete the encrypted video on the computer in his old lab; explain it to the world himself…

There was suddenly a burst of static and incomprehensible radio garble. He strained his ears, but heard nothing. The radio went dead, and Toudo heard the horrible sound of the general's laughter.

"And now, Hiroshi, we come to the _pista resistance_!" He said, and sobered. "We have just received word that Maria is dead in Japan, and her child with her. Thought to send them to her father, did you?"

_Quiet, _he thought, _must not react…_

"And yet, her father is the one who killed the baby girl. Ah Toudo, if only I could see your face right now…"

But Toudo wasn't listening. A girl. Maria had been right. Maria…

Now he faced a dilemma. Live without her, fight on for their dream… or stop trying. He couldn't bring himself to live. Closing his eyes, he imagined Maria's pregnant form, standing at the window, smiling. He built the image in his mind until he felt he could touch it, remembering her sight, her sound, her scent. And with that beautiful vision, he stood up, raising his hands above his head, eyes still closed.

In his reverie, he did not even hear the gun shots.

* * *

_In my pocket… I have the key to saving the world. She is the ultimate witch, her very genes are imbued with destiny… but this knife could rip that all to shreds._

He caught his breath as the child looked up at him. Green eyes. Green as emeralds, green as grass, green as her mother's. This child was still innocent. He could baptize her, free her of her parent's sins… surely if he, an experienced hunter trainer, raised her in the convent, he could save her?

He could not kill a child – even if it was a child of the devil, he could not ignore god's grace within her. Wrapping her a little tighter, he found his phone. He had never lied to his organization before, but now he had reason to.

Hope.

* * *

_""O LORD, the God of Israel," they cried, "why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?"" (Judges 21:3)_

Missing, he thought. Yes. Something was missing. He often did not think of it, such little difference there was between the past and the present. But though Maria had barely spoken to him in the last year of her life, had betrayed him…

It still hurt to think that she was dead.

"Father?"

He shook himself, looking down at the small girl before him, already wrapped in nun's clothing, staring up at him in rapt attention with green eyes that flashed with the fierce life of a child. Clearing his throat, he pushed away a sense of de-ja-vu. "Please, forgive me, Robin, my mind is wandering today."

"Of course, Father," she murmured.

He continued to read.

* * *

"Father Juliano…"

"Yes my child?"

Robin looked down, seeming embarrassed. "Father," she murmured, "Did you… ever know my parents?"

Juliano sighed. He had wondered when this would come up, and had almost hoped that it would not. But being the age of four brought questions about the world around her, and that included noticing that she lacked two loving parents.

"I only met them for a moment. What would you like to know?"

"I… don't know." Robin said, "I suppose that all I know now is all I really ought to know."

He waited for her to speak more, but instead, she stood still, frowning at the floor. Finally, she thanked him and left, shuffling down the hall on tiny feet. With a somber sigh, he wondered if he would ever be able to tell her everything.

* * *

Night. It was times like these- when the candles and stars were the only light to be had in his room- that he thought of the heavy things in his life. His burden of sin, which, of late, had been clawing at him like an angry cat.

He could see something. Something in her which reminded him of the days before Maria had awakened to her craft. An intensity in her eyes, so like her mother's, an alertness about her which could not be ignored in someone so young. He prayed every day that he was wrong, that it was just being raised in a convent that had given her such seriousness.

But if she did… awaken. If she did eventually find her craft… there was no way out. He would have to put her through hunter training. It was the only way for her to survive.

* * *

Every day she looked a little more like Maria. Sometimes he forgot – but then he found the locket tucked in the back of one desk drawer. Inside was the only family portrait that he had kept, the only picture of her remaining. She had been twelve, a year before her craft had awakened

_Did I fail? _Juliano asked himself. _Was I simply not watchful enough of my daughter's life?_

On the other side of the locket, in the still unsteady script of a pre-teen, the words '_I love you, dad' _were written. He smiled bitterly.

* * *

"How is she?" His voice echoed in the stark hallway, rumbling deep under the whispers of screams that still lingered.

"She has calmed somewhat. Sister Biacini is with her."

"Let me see her."

"But Father Juliano –,"

"My craft is still sufficient to protect myself should her power flux again."

A sigh. "Very well."

Slowly, he opened the door, carefully stepping into the smoky room. When he had heard of the uproar in the convent, he had immediately known what had happened. They had been warned, certainly, but if what Toudo had tried to do was successful…

He blinked. On one side of the chamber sat a robed figure, head bowed in prayer over a bed. In the bed lay Robin, her face screwed up and sweaty, hands clenching and unclenching the covers which she had thrown off of herself. Sister Biacini looked up to him, face somewhat weary.

"She fell asleep only a few minutes ago. The awakening has exhausted her," she murmured.

"Yes. Is she well otherwise?"

The nun nodded, glancing at the tiny girl. Juliano saw a flash of fear in her eyes, but it was hidden even as it flared. He glanced at the room, and saw good reason for the fear. Nearly everything was covered in a fine layer of soot or ash. The inside of the wooden door was blackened and cracked. All because of Robin.

He checked his breath, making sure that it was still steady. _Toudo, _he thought, _what did you create? _And then he remembered, nearly thirteen years before. He had had the chance to undo that creation, to kill it before it awakened… but he had not.

Robin shifted in her sleep, and Juliano crossed himself. _Here I stand before my sin; _he prayed silently,_ my punishment for allowing into my heart sympathy for the devil.

* * *

_

She had improved again. Her craft was able to go farther and do more now. Whereas, when she had first awoken, she had barely been able to control whether it was enough to light a candle, or enough to begin a bonfire, now she could monitor the power. Her accuracy was still begging, but at least she knew control.

He was rent in two. Part of him was glad to see her survive, and the other part knew that she was a child of sin. He sighed as she noticed him, holding out a hand to bless her. Torn as he was, he could not deny that he had not repented for his sin, though his penance was never ending.

* * *

"I am to retrieve the artifact, and turn it over to SOLOMON."

"Yes. We have arranged a room for you, as well as a flight. You will be leaving tomorrow morning."

She shifted. "May I leave earlier, Father? I would like to go as soon as possible."

He inclined his head. "If you can find a flight, go with my blessing."

She nodded and bowed her head as he placed his hand lightly on her hair. He muttered a soft prayer, and then crossed himself. Following suit, she rose. "Goodbye, father, until we meet again."

"Go with God, Robin, and may he be with you to your redemption day," Juliano rumbled, and sighed as she walked from him, standing as tall as her fifteen years would allow her.

* * *

The Arcanum had been found, and it was her. The words settled heavy on his heart as he sat in his study, fingers in a steeple before him. He had feared this turn of events. Even though he had been told nearly a month ago that his grandchild held the secrets of the craft within herself – and had known it since she was born –the words still haunted him.

He had tried to purge the thoughts in a letter to her, after ordering her hunt… but still, the knowledge that she had not changed, had never changed…

He rose from his chair, mind set, and took up his coat. He needed a taxi, and a flight to Japan. Like it or not, it was Time to Tell.

* * *

Dat's all folks! I'm off to drown in my school work some more! 


End file.
